Poll Suggests NDP Making Gains At Expense Of Tories

The Canadian Press Harris Decima survey indicates that the NDP have 34 per cent of popular support, compared to 30 per cent for the Conservatives. (CP)

OTTAWA - A new poll suggests the New Democrats are widening their support across the country.

The Canadian Press Harris Decima survey indicates that the NDP have 34 per cent of popular support, compared to 30 per cent for the Conservatives.

With a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points, support for the two parties could be equally split.

Still, the poll indicates that the New Democrats have become competitive in traditional Tory areas.

Among rural Canadians, the poll suggests the New Democrats have 31 per cent support, compared to 35 per cent for the Tories.

The NDP appear to have the support of 36 per cent of urban and suburban men, a number that has risen steadily since February.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives are seeing their support in that demographic appear to hover around 29 per cent, down from close to 40 per cent four months ago.

As well, the New Democrats appear to have supplanted the Liberals as the natural party among women, said Allan Gregg, chairman of Harris Decima.

"Remember this is a party that a decade ago, half the electorate said they would "never" vote for," he said.

"To broaden their base as we see in these data is quite remarkable."

Overall, the Liberals continue to hold steady at 20 per cent support, the poll suggests.

Just over 2,000 Canadians were polled for the survey in the last week of April and first week of May.

The period marked ongoing controversy of the price tag for fighter jets as well as the introduction of the Conservatives' controversial omnibus budget implementation bill.

But it also saw the anniversary of the 2011 federal election which returned the Conservatives with their majority government.

The election resulted in the NDP surge into Opposition status thanks to a record number of MPs being elected in Quebec.

In that province, the party's fortunes appear to be sliding following a spike after the election of new leader Tom Mulcair.

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10 Little-Known Mulcair Facts

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Here are some facts you may not have known about NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair. (CP)

Mulcair was Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks in Jean Charest's Liberal government in Quebec. He served in the role from 2003-2006. (CP)

Mulcair married Catherine Pinhas in 1976. She was born in France to a Turkish family of Sephardic Jewish descent. Mulcair has French citizenship through his marriage, as do the couple's two sons. (KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)

Mulcair left Charest's Liberal government in Quebec after he was offered the position of Minister of Government Services in 2006, an apparent demotion from Minister of the Environment. Mulcair has said his ouster was related to his opposition to a government plan to transfer land in the Mont Orford provincial park to condo developers. (CP)

Mulcair was the first New Democrat to win a riding in Quebec during a federal election. He held the riding of Outremont during the 2008 election after first winning the seat in a 2007 by-election. Phil Edmonston was the first New Democrat to win a seat in Quebec, but his win came in a 1990 by-election. Robert Toupin was the very first to bring a Quebec seat to the NDP, but he did it in 1986 by crossing the floor. (Alamy)

Mulcair's father Harry Donnelly Mulcair was Irish-Canadian and his mother Jeanne French-Canadian. His father spoke to him in English and his mother in French -- explaining his fluency in both official languages. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Muclair has voted in past French elections, but after becoming leader of the Official Opposition he said he would not cast a ballot in the French presidential vote. (Thinkstock)

Mulcair met his future wife at a wedding when they were both teenagers. Catherine was visiting from France. They married two years later when they were both 21. (CP)

Mulcair was given the moniker in a Maclean's headline, but the new leader of the NDP has long been known for his short fuse. In 2005, he was fined $95,000 for defamatory comments he made about former PQ minister Yves Duhaime on TV. The comments included French vulgarity and an accusation that alleged influence peddling would land Duhaime in prison.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he has had his fair share of marijuana.
"Oh, yeah. I've smoked a lot of it."

The federal Liberal leader opened up to HuffPost about his experience with marijuana in August.
"Sometimes, I guess, I have gotten a buzz, but other times no. I’m not really crazy about it.”

The Opposition leader's office told HuffPost this summer that Mulcair has smoked in the past but not since he was elected to office. Mulcair was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in 1994.

Said the Tory finance minister:
"Yeah, in my teenage years... a couple of times, I have to admit: I didn’t like it."

The Liberal MP and Canada's first astronaut said he tried marijuana as a student in the 1970s in England.
"It's not my thing. I stopped because it wasn't doing anything for me."

The premier of Ontario said she smoked pot decades ago.
"I have smoked marijuana but not for the last 35 years."

Said the premier of Nova Scotia:
"Like every other person I knew back in the '70s when I went to university, some of whom are actually in this room, I would have tried it, the same as other people at that time."

Said the premier of British Columbia:
"I graduated from Burnaby South Senior Secondary in 1983 and there was a lot of that going on when I was in high school and I didn't avoid it all together."

The leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario admitted he's puffed in the past.
"I was a normal kid, I had a normal upbringing, a normal life in university. I experimented from time to time with marijuana. It’s a long time ago in the past and in the grand scheme of things."

The former prime minister of Canada told CTV News:
"The answer is: I never smoked. I never smoked anything, but there was an earlier time, years ago, when (my wife) made some brownies and they did have a strange taste."

The former prime minister admitted while running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives that she tried weed.
"And I inhaled the smoke."

Said the former NDP leader:
"Yes, and some might say I never exhaled."

The former premier of Ontario said he experimented in his teens, but only twice.

The premier of Saskatchewan said he was an "infrequent" user back in university.
"It didn't really do anything for me, luckily, because for some, it does lead to other things."